Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Open 2009 Baseball Season With Four-Game Homestand
February 20, 2009 | Cowboy Baseball
#13 Oklahoma State vs. BYU & Manhattan
Feb. 20-22 • Fri. vs. BYU (4 p.m.)
Sat. vs. Manhattan (3 p.m.) & BYU (6:30 pm.)
Sun. vs. Manhattan (2 p.m.)
Stillwater, Okla. • Allie P. Reynolds Stadium (4,000)
Oklahoma State
The Cowboys are coming off their third-straight 40-win season under head coach Frank Anderson as they finished 44-18 overall in 2008. OSU finished second in the Big 12 Conference regular season standings in '08 with an 18-9 mark.
OSU opens the 2009 season at home with a pair of games against BYU and Manhattan at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have won their last four home openers, as well as their last four season openers.
OSU returns four position starters from a year ago, three of which hit .319 or better, and the bulk of a pitching staff that led the Big 12 with a 3.98 ERA.
BYU
The Cougars were 22-36 in 2008 and return all nine starters from that ballclub.
Manhattan
The Jaspers finished the 2008 season with a 31-20-1 mark and return seven starters in 2009.
In The Polls
Oklahoma State's highest ranking is No. 13 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches' poll. The Cowboys are also ranked 14th Collegiate Baseball and 16th by the NCBWA.
Neither BYU nor Manhattan is ranked.
On The Air & The Web
All OSU baseball games are carried live by Stillwater Radio on KSPI 93.7 FM and/or 780 AM. Rex Holt, who is in his 27th season as the play-by-play voice of Cowboy baseball, will call the action, with Matt Davis providing color commentary.
Radio broadcasts can also be accessed via www.okstate.com (link is available under Audio/Video - Live Events). Those wishing to follow OSU's games via live stats can log on to www.okstate.com (link is available under Audio/Video - Live Stats).
About BYU
The Cougars, who are coached by former major leaguer Vance Law, are coming off a 22-36 season.
OSU owns a 7-4 all-time record vs. BYU. The last meeting came in 2005, with the Cowboys splitting a two-game series with the Cougars in Stillwater.
Players To Watch
• OF Sean McNaughton (.340, 14 HR, 53 RBI)
• 3B Steve Parker (.340, 10 HR, 42 RBI)
• 1B Kasey Ko (.358, 2 HR, 45 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitchers vs. OSU
Friday: LHP Jake Wortham
4-4, 3 saves, 6.75 ERA in 14 outings
Saturday: RHP Jeremy Toole
JUCO transfer
About Manhattan
The Jaspers were 31-20-1 a year ago and earned a share of the MAAC championship.
The Cowboys have never faced Manhattan on the baseball diamond.
Players To Watch
• OF Kevin Nieto (.383, 47 RBI, 21-21 SB)
• OF Mark Onorati (.337, 7 HR, 31 RBI)
• 3B Chad Salem (.302, 10 HR, 51 RBI)
Probable Starting Pitchers vs. OSU
Saturday: LHP Dan Forman
8-4, save, 4.70 ERA in 15 appearances
Sunday: LHP Mike Gazzola
4-3, save, 4.35 ERA in 12 appearances
Home Sweet Home
Allie P. Reynolds Stadium has been home to Oklahoma State baseball since 1981, and in those 28 seasons the Cowboys have been nearly unbeatable on their home field.
OSU was 28-6 at home last season and is 721-150 (.828) all-time at Reynolds Stadium. The Cowboys have lost more than two consecutive games on their home turf only once.
The Cowboys are 57-14 all time in home openers and have won four in a row.
200 Club
With the Cowboys' next win, head coach Frank Anderson will reach 200 career victories. He will become the fifth coach in the history of OSU baseball to reach the mark.
Anderson enters his sixth season at OSU with a career record of 199-108.
Aluminum Assault
Over the last several seasons, OSU has established itself among the top hitting teams not only in the Big 12 Conference but on a national scale.
Last season, OSU led the Big 12 in three offensive categories — batting average (.326), slugging percentage (.531) and home runs (89). The Cowboys finished second in the league in runs, hits, triples and RBIs.
In '06, OSU led the Big 12 in homers, triples and slugging percentage, and in 2007 the Cowboys led the Big 12 in six offensive categories and ranked second in two more.
Kings Of The Hill
OSU also had one of the top pitching staffs in college baseball in 2008.
The Cowboys led the Big 12 with a 3.98 team ERA and also topped the league with 21 saves. The staff returns seven pitchers who made at least eight appearances and worked 15 or more innings in '08.
OSU's 3.98 ERA in '08 marked the first time since 2005 the Cowboys' finished the season with a team ERA under 4.00. The '05 and '08 seasons are the only two since 1974 that OSU has had an ERA of less than 4.00.
Awards Watch
Several Cowboys have been named to preseason awards lists by various publications, including:
• Baseball America Preseason All-America
Andrew Oliver (second team)
• Louisville Slugger Preseason All-America
Andrew Oliver (second team)
Tyler Lyons (third team)
• Rivals.com Preseason All-America
Andrew Oliver
• Golden Spikes Award Watch List
Tyler Lyons, Andrew Oliver
• Wallace Award Watch List
Tom Belza, Tyler Lyons, Andrew Oliver, Neil Medchill
